Apollo, By Catherine Bly Cox And Charles Augustus Murray

From the start of the Space Race, the Soviet Union had the United States beat by sending the first satellite, the Sputnik, and the first man, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, into space. However, President Kennedy would not stand by as the Soviet Union began to run away with the space race. Kennedy addressed the nation by consulting Congress to “increase NASA’s budget by nine billion dollars”(Cox). This bold move made by Kennedy enabled the United States to make it to the moon first. Going to the moon first was a much higher feat than simply going into space because it required much more “precision while launching and higher equipped technology to go the extra distance”(Exploring Space). Due to the extra skill required to go to the moon, it showed how by the end of the Space Race the United States had superior technology. Since the Cold War was a fight for Global Power, going to the moon was a significant move for the United States because it showed that they had exceptional machinery. With this admirable technology, it solidified the United States’s reputation as a Global

The main purpose of John F. Kennedy 's speech “We Choose to go to the Moon” was to gain the support of the American people. He did this by pointing out why it was important to be the first ones to reach the moon with a man. Kennedy addresses many things that the United States has quickly and efficiently succeeded at, he then goes on to compare these successes to getting a man on the moon. The president also brings up how they are very close to obtaining the goal and that they just need the funding to make it happen. He continues on to make a powerful comparison between how

Kennedy had done a lot of work for being president only for three years. Some of the legislative laws he passed was that he abolished the federal death penalty. He also made executive orders prohibiting racial discrimination and laid the groundwork for Civil Rights Act of 1964. He also initiated the project Apollo to take a man to the moon. One of Kennedy’s biggest failures was the Bay of Pigs which made Kennedy look bad and had distrust between himself and the so called experts. Kennedy’s political analysis to explain the outcome of the space program was that the Soviet Union already had someone fly to space. So the United States out did the Soviet Union by taking it a step further by putting someone on the moon and leaving the American flag on the as

On July 16, 1969, NASA launched a shuttle into space containing Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. They were going to be the first people to step foot on the Moon. This mission into the unknown caused a commotion on Earth. Many reputable news sources across the world created various sources about this event. These are weighted with the high emotions that ran through the world as well as the facts gathered as the brave men first put their footprints on the barren surface of the Moon. The creators of each peice used logos, pathos, and ethos to get the desired response from their audiences.

Before the causes and results of Kennedy’s decision to land on the moon can be adequately analyzed and discussed, it is necessary to understand the context of his time as President and the events that preceded it. Therefore, I will provide a small amount of context about the Cold War and the situation leading up to Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the moon” speech on September 12, 1962. (Citation).

America’s space program is undoubtedly one of its greatest modern achievements. Few people cannot recall the famous quote “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” or do not know where it came from. The story leading up to the moment a man walked on the moon, as well as everything that came after, is just as interesting and important as the moment itself. The significance of the history of America’s aeronautics programs cannot possibly be overestimated, and their story is one that is incredibly important to the modern world of today. It would not be the nation that it is, with the technology it possesses, without its crucial involvement in the “space race”. If the technology that sent a man to the moon did not exist, our daily lives would be impacted and basic tools would be missing. Beginning with America’s first official aeronautics organization, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (or NACA) and continuing through to the present day and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (or NASA), the story of America’s aerospace programs is interesting and extremely important. It is a story that spans many years and giant leaps in technology, and involves important locations like Wallops Flight Facility and Kennedy Space Center. From the early beginnings of NACA and Wallops, and continuing on to the rise and success of NASA and Kennedy Space Center, aeronautics

“We intend to be first . . . and to become the world's leading space-faring nation.” (Kennedy, John F.) During his 1962 address to Rice University in Houston, Texas, President John F. Kennedy uses various rhetorical devices to persuade his audience to support advances in the national space program. With Russia’s launch of the first man into space the year before, America was struggling to regain an advantage over Russia in the space race.

The space race begun in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union. In addition, the United States aerospace innovation was considerably prompted by the government’s steady upward ratcheting of requirements for the acceleration, efficiency, and performance based on speedily evolving project requirements. “Fifteen thousand workers had arrived on the outskirts on (the city of) Sacramento” (pg.55) in California due to the rising aerospace industry. David Beers

When Sputnik 1 had launched, many looked upon Dwight D. Eisenhower, the president at the time, to see how he’d oppose. Sputnik allowed Eisenhower to show his leadership as he created NASA and The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to work alongside each other. This along with many achievements following Sputnik showed Eisenhower’s tenacious attitude towards the Space Race, satisfying his nation (Herbert para. 6). On May 5, 1961, John F. Kennedy publicly announced the goal for America to have man landing on the moon by the end of the decade, clearly setting the finish line to the space race (“Space” para. 5). With this bold statement, it shocked many Americans including the ones in the space program as they were months to years behind the Soviet’s space program. With his goal set high, JFK feared that Americans would lose interest in the race, therefore wanting the Soviets to increase their productivity with the program sparking the interest back for Americans. Also fearing the high amounts of funding needed to launch rockets to space, in order to prevent being criticized by the American people thinking it was just a waste of money, he needed the people to believe in the program (Herbert para. 3). Consequently, President Kennedy, at Rice Stadium on September 12, 1962 gave his “We choose to go to the moon” speech.

In 1965, NASA’s annual budget was $5.2 billion; this money was spent to heat up the Space Race (“Project Apollo”). The Space Race and its competitive nature is best illustrated in this passage from John F. Kennedy’s Address at Rice University on the nation's space effort, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too” (“John F. Kennedy”). The launch of the Soviet satellite, Sputnik 1, was the event that began the Space Race (The First 13). It was launched on October 4, 1957 (Taylor, Roberts, and Bullock 2451; “The Space Race”). This metallic sphere created the panic of the Sputnik Crisis and the missile gap (Commager 628; Taylor, Roberts, and Bullock 2451; The First 13). Two products of the Sputnik Crisis were the National Defense Education Act and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“A Brief;” Apollo to the moon 19-20; The First 25). From that point on, the race was on. Although the Soviet Union had a head start in the Space Race, the United States caught up with and surpassed them because of their advanced education system, the German engineers, technology from the Second World War, and their different types of government and economic systems.

In the later days of May in 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress, his ambitious goal of sending a human to the moon before the end of the decade. However, this enormous goal, that would appear to be a catalyst for domestic pride, has as many ties to the Cold War, as it does to the moon itself. Regardless of this, when Apollo 11 landed on the moon in July of 1969, the entire country rejoiced. While some doubted the motives of Kennedy’s goal, a bigger conspiracy may have lay just beneath the surface; a conspiracy that could have shaken the entire country and enraged the world. Many well known scientists and government officials claim that the United States of America never actually landed a man on the moon, and that the government faked the entire event for both political and financial gain. Although much compelling evidence and contradictions have been brought to light by the conspiracists, NASA has successfully responded to all of these in a robust and educated manor, that fully enforces the fact that the United States of America did in fact land a man on the moon.

“The long countdown for the voyage to the moon began in the spring of 1961, in the fourth year of the Space Age.” America found itself humiliated by the fact it was the Russians, not they, that were able to send

This federal agency was “responsible for the aerospace research and the civilian space program.”2 The space race heats up, as the soviet unions become the first to put a man in space, “ Yuri Gagarin became the first man to enter earths orbit, in a single- pilot spacecraft called Vostok I,”2 however, America is not far behind; a month later Alan Shepard became the first American in space. Because of back and fourth success, US president John F. Kennedy announces “ the inauguration of the Apollo program, which pledged to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.”2 After years of experiment, test flight, and training “ the Apollo 11 spacecraft was launched into space on July 26, 1969;” 3 in the spacecraft included astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Four days later “The Eagle” landed on the moon; Neil Armstrong stepped outside and became the first man to walk on the moon. The United States had taken a huge lead in the space race with the Apollo programs, and the relations between the Soviet Union began to thaw.

​Stepping foot onto the moon may have been a small step for a man, but it required remarkable efforts and breakthroughs in technology. Werner von Braun, a scientist of the time, stated, "'It will require years of concentrated effort to come abreast, and even longer to pull ahead'" (D'Antonio 174). As most people know, America was able to gain momentum and beat the Soviets through an increase in sophisticated technology. In a time before electronic technology

Kennedy envisioned a dream where he had the chance to send a man to the Moon and return him home safely. Cheryl L. Mansfield quotes Kennedy, ‘“First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”’ (1). Little did he know